NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
PRESENTED BY
PROF. SUNANDA KULKARNI
N. V. DEGREE COLLEGE, GULBARGA.
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NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Non-verbal communication is communication without the use of
spoken or written words. It is a process of communicating ideas or
message by not using written or oral language, but through body
language and facial expressions.
Non-verbal communication is concerned with such things as
body movements, space, time and voice rhythm as well as
general features of the environments- color, layout, and design.
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TYPES OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION:The types of Non-verbal communication are as follows:
1.Kinesics- [the study of body movements] e.g. Facial
expressions and eyes, Gestures, postures, and Appearance.
2. Proxemics-[the study of space or distance adopted by the
speakers].
3. Paralanguage-[the study of voice quality used by the
speakers].
4. Physical context-[the study of color, layout and design].
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
1KINESICS-may be defined as the study of the body’s
physical movements. In the process of Kinesics, we look for
inner states of emotion as expressed through different parts
of the body and their physical movement. Let us see how
different parts of the body send out different messages
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A] Facial Expressions and Eyes: Facial expression may
express happiness, anger, shyness, sadness, fear etc. The
eyes tell us much more than other facial features. Following
are few examples of facial expressions and their
interpretations.
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Expressions
No eye contact
Half raised eyebrows
Closed eyes
Pursed lips
Raised eyebrows
Smiling face
Roving eyes
Shifting eyes
Interpretation
Disinterest
Worry
Desire for privacy
Lackofopenness/disapproval/dislike
Disbelief/inquiring/surprise
Friendliness
Arrogance and power
Hiding something
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Clicking of fingers
Clicking of tongue
Drumming/ Tapping
Hanging head
Licking lips
Scratching head
Shaking head
Shrugging shoulders
Stamping foot
Trying to remember
Annoyed
Impatient
Ashamed
Anticipating
puzzled
disagreement
doubt, indifferent
angry
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Wrinkled nose
dislike, distaste
Wrinkled forehead
puzzled.
Nodding
Assent or tolerance
Steady eye contact
Active listener
Biting of lips
Nervous
Clenching of fists
Angry, aggressive
Examples: She bit her lips nervously.
He scratched his head and looked thoughtful.
She raised her questioning eyebrows.
[ Note: The combination of the verb and part of the body convey’s an
emotion or attitude.]
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B] GESTURES:
Gestures too play a significant role in making the
communication effective. Gestures are the physical movements
of the body parts like arms, legs, hands, head etc. According to
Roger E Axtell, ‘Without Gestures, our
world be static,
colorless……We use gestures almost instinctively’. All oral
communications are accompanied by gestures such as
shrugging of the shoulders, flourish of the hands, movement of
the head etc. In fact, without the accompanying gestures it
would be difficult to speak. These gestures enhance the impact
and add a greater value to what is being said.
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Gestures
 Arms folded on chest
 Fists clenched
 Running fingers through hair
 Hand over mouth
 Frown
 Uncrossed legs
 Open hands, palms up
 Nodding
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Possible Meanings
not going to listen
defensiveness
frustration
doubtful
displeasure
open to agreement
sincere, open
agreeing
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Thumbs up
job well done
 Moutza (opening your palm,streching out fingers)I’m not particularly impressed)
 The dog call (index finger towards you in
summoning position)-target men to follow them
 The A-OK-great/absolutely fine/ you think they are
a zero
 V-sign –victory
 Fig-thumb poking out from between the index and
middle finger-encourage good luck
 The Corna –players indicate two outs
 The middle finger-one fingered victory salute

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C] POSTURE: It is an important part of body language and generally
refers to the way one stands, sits and walks. The movement of
the body, the position of hands and legs and other parts of the
body reveal an individual’s personality-whether he is vibrant, alive
and dynamic, nervous and jittery, confident and self-assured.
A good speaker stands tall, feet together.
A drooping shoulder and a protruding stomach indicate that the
speaker is tired and worn out.
The posture of sitting with stretched out legs shows confidence
and relaxation.
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While different situations will demand different sitting
postures, one should keep one ’s back straight from the waist
up, both the feet should be on the floor, one slightly in front of
the other.
The ability to walk across the stage with ease and grace
contributes a great deal to the first impression the speaker
makes upon his audience. The walking posture may convey
whether a speaker is confident, energetic and vital or
withdrawn, diffident or nervous.
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To walk gracefully
1. Move the legs freely from the hips.
2. Lift your feet from the floor. Do not drag them.
3. Walk in straight line. Avoid a stride or taking tiny steps.
4. While speaking, there need to be shifts in the postures.
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Five postures for the hands in worship
1] Receive-[Two-handed; hands raised, palms facing inward]
It’s a posture for receiving from God a touch, a work of grace,
or a gift. Fill me now, or purify my heart.
2] Stand-in-awe[Two-handed; hands raised, palms facing
outward]. Nothing is held back.
3] Surrender-[same as above position]. Universal expression of
surrender-I give up.
4] Testimony-[one hand raised, palm facing outward]I swear to
tell the whole truth, nothing but truth.
5] Commitment/Volunteer-[same as above]I volunteer-I will
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PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
The first impact on the audience is created by the personal appearance
of the speaker.
By appearance , we mean clothing, hair style, ornaments, make-up and
the like. Even before a single utterance is uttered an audience forms an
opinion about the speaker. It may put the audience into a resistant or
even a hostile attitude. It may also induce a receptive mood. Hence in
respect of certain communication situations such as interview,
convocation, professionals, state banquet etc. certain conventions with
regard to dress have been established. Uniforms have been introduced
in number of institutes. It definitely instills a sense of oneness and
indicates the kind of work one does. It may be the marker of status as
well.
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EYE CONTACT:
Eye contact with the listener is perhaps the most important
aspect of the body language. Eye, is considered to be the
extension of the brain and a window of the soul. And eye
contact definitely is a means of gaining feedback, enabling the
speaker to alter, adjust and reframe his message while
transmitting it. Better eye contact leads to more effective
communication. A good speaker will always look at all sections
of the audience. If the audience is continuously ignored, then
there is every possibility that it may lose interest
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PROXEMICS: The term ‘Proximity’ comes from an English word ‘proximity’
which means nearness. Proximics is the personal space language. It is the
study of how we communicate with others by adopting the distance
between us and the listener. Edward T. Hall coined air bubble or spaces as
‘proxemics’ and explains the following four types of informal spaces to know
human relationship:
1 Intimate distance-space adopted would be around 6 to18 inches.[for
embracing, touching or whispering]
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Personal distance- 18inches to 4 feet.[for interactions among good friends
or family friends]
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Social-4 to 12feet.[for interactions among acquaintances]
4 Public- 12 feet to 25 feet range of eyesight and hearing.Used for public
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speaking
The definitions of each can vary from culture to culture.Such variations can lead to
confusion,discomfort,and misunderstanding.
Proximics becomes truly interesting when individuals from different cultures
interact.
For example: South Americans and Arabs-prefer very close proxemic distances for
interaction.
Asians-prefer greater proxemic distance.
Indians-when very close relatives or friends stand or sit very close seem to be
comfortable.
But we are uncomfortable if a stranger or a mere acquaintance does so.
Note: The messages that we send to each other when we break or do not break
these spatial boundaries.
Maintaining these proxemic distances is innate. That is, we naturally keep the
correct distance for each relationship. If someone in the relationship breaks the
boundary of the appropriate zone, the other person will probably feel
uncomfortable and become conscious.
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This is termed as social distance. This term also includes
a reference to the standing-seated position. The person
who is in the superior or commanding position, usually
stands and the others remain seated. In public gatherings
one can prove more effective if one stands while speaking.
Space distancing differs from culture to culture. Care
should be taken to use the appropriate symbols in crosscultural contexts. However, in heightened
emotional
states of mind[e.g. anger, shock, danger],the normal
distancing is ignored.
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
Paralanguage: is non-verbal because it does not
consist of words. It shows on
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“how” of speakers voice rather than “what” of the
words. Speaker uses a range of sign and signal.Ex:
Sighing, clearing throat, yawning, clicking tongue.
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It includes tone of voice, pitch, volume, rhythm, pause
etc.It directly influences the meaning part. Ex: uhhuh[means I’m listening to you.]ah-hah,un-huh and
huh-uh.
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Physical Context: Refers to colour, design /layout, symbols in which we
communicate.It is a part of non-verbal communication because we derive
meaning from our surroundings. We associate certain colours with certain
situations. Ex:white stands for purity. Green symbolises life.
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Lee Mc Gaan has pointed out six kinds of contexts:
 Physical context [material objects surrounding you]
 Innercontext [feelings,thoughts,sensations and emotions]
 Symbolic context [includes all messages,primarily words-which occur
before or after a communication]
 Relational context [e.g.father-son,student-teacher,expert-layman,friendfriend]
 Situational context [studying, playing a game,helping a friend with a
problem.]
 Cultural Context [ the rules and patterns of communication that are given
by[learned from] our culture and which differs from other cultures . E.g.
American,Japanese,British etc.Such variations may lead to confusion,
discomfort,and misunderstanding.
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Thus, we find that up to 93% of communication effectiveness is determined by non-verbal
cues.
Another study indicated that the impact of a performance was determined 7% by the
words used,38 % by voice quality, and 55% by the non-verbal communication.
If you want to mask your feelings or your immediate reaction to information, you may have
your voice and words under control, but your body language including the tiniest facial
expressions and movement, can give your true thoughts and feelings away. Especially to a
skilled reader of non-verbal cues, we are really open books.
TIPS FOR UNDERSTANDING Non-Verbal Communications:1. Listen with your eyes: Every gesture is something if you are listening with your eyes.
2.You can read volumes from how the applicant sits in the lobby.
3.Non-verbal may reveal more than the persons spoken words.
4.At a meeting , non-verbal communication will tell you thati] you have talked long enough.
ii] that someone else wants to speak.
iii] the mood of the crowd and their reaction to your remarks.
iv] listen to them and you’ll be a better leader and speaker.
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